Abstract/Description

At a consultation, which drew participants from several African countries as well as from international and regional development agencies, it was agreed that a network, to be called the Network for Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (NAMA), should...

Notes

At a consultation, which drew participants from several African countries as well as from international and regional development agencies, it was agreed that a network, to be called the Network for Agricultural Mechanization in Africa (NAMA), should be established. The meeting: at which this decision was taken had been convened by the Food Production and Rural Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Given its important role in the production of both food and cash crops in Africa, the meeting noted that mechanization is generally not given adequate importance by, among others, politicians, government officials and managers of agricultural research systems. Moreover, in many countries a rather negative image of mechanization has been created as a result of past experience where ill-conceived tractorization and animal traction projects have either not produced the desired results or have completely failed. The role agriculture in Africa must therefore be promoted more vigorously and presented more positively and objectively.
It is unlikely that any of the African countries would alone be able to establish and sustain the range of institutions necessary for tackling all the problems in this area. A networking approach will enable the African countries and participating institutions to pool their resources and exchange their experiences in order to tackle agricultural mechanization problems.
The first issue of the NAMA newsletter has been published and articles are invited for future issues.
Mr G Okafor, NAMA
Food Production & Rural Development Division
Agriculture Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House,
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX UK
Prof. G C Mrema
Editor, NAMA Newsletter
Botswana College of Agriculture
Private Bag 0027
Gaborone, BOTSWANA
Fax (267) 314 253